How Progressive Web Apps Bridge the Gap between Web and Mobile App?

by Akansha Pandey Marketing Head

There was a time when website development was considered an almost essential step to start your business reach audience. Though there is not much shift in the trend, rather businesses are now more prone to having an app that cost less, loads fast and gives the benefit of both web and mobile app both.

Native mobile apps are faster and reliable but come at a higher cost comparative to web applications. But the native apps need to be downloaded specifically on play store and app store. This is why most of the companies have PWAs developed which would take the features of a native app and reach of web thus leading to seamless flow of an application.

Why PWAs are Important for Businesses and Enterprises?

Since most of the applications already existing on play stores could not be used without downloading it. This leads to the development of web apps which can be easily accessed by any browser on any device or platform. The main idea is to include all features of a native app be available on a web app that need not be downloaded yet provide full functionality.

What Features Make a Progressive Web App?

So what features your Progressive Web App Development Company must incorporate while developing your application? With our vast experience, we have highlighted some of the important features which you need to have in your app to be called as a PWA. A progressive web app should be:

• Progressive

Your web app must be progressive that means irrespective of the browser type and operating system of the device.

• Faster

Your web app must be faster and take lesser time to load compared to native apps or even websites.

• Installable

Allow users to keep the app they find useful on their devices whether it is a Smartphone or it is any desktop device.

• Engaging

Your PWA must have all the essential features like Push Notifications, web payments and many more.

• Reliable

The web application must be able to work well in both online as well as offline modes or even in bad network conditions.

Let us have a detailed comparison among features of progressive web apps, websites and web apps to understand which one can be beneficial for you. Moreover, this provides a clear reason as to why PWAs edge over other web and mobile apps.

Progressive Web Apps Vs Website Vs Web App

Implementing the Core Requirements and Features of PWA

But the million dollar question is how to implement these features in your PWA development project. Well, there are some core requirements for progressive web app development apart from a few others which you need to understand on by one.

Service Worker

So what a service worker is supposed to do? Well, a service worker is nothing but a JavaScript file that runs separately from the main browser. Its primary function is in intercepting network requests, caching resources and helps multiple APIs to function accordingly.

Various big brands like Google already allow users to use its service worker toolbox which helps in making the app run separately in the background. Thus it provides a native app experience thus helps you to gain users trust.

HTTPS

Hypertext transfer protocol Secure is a way to get secure communication using encryptions like SSL or TLS. Your PWA must be secure as service workers which take the request from the application and modify responses. This, in turn, could be used to attack your network security. Hence a secure certificate could allow you to be free for the hassle of security issues.

Web App Manifest

So how do you want your app to behave when it gets installed on a device via a browser? This is where a JSON file, can tell a web application to behave a specific way as it is installed on a mobile device or a desktop device. For e.g. Chrome browser requires a manifest to add a shortcut to the device screen.

Push Notifications

The server delivers push messages to the service workers which intercept and hence update the local state or displays a notification to the user. Since service workers run as a background process, hence it is possible to get notified with the app being closed. This is where Push API could help your mobile app development company implement this.

Caching

A cache API allows you to store responses as per key request. This content could be directly loaded from the cache in case there is any network problem. For this mostly application shell is cached. This allows the app to work offline as well. An app shell gets loads instantly when content is fetched showing us a screen.

Wrapping Up

Most of the businesses consider expanding their services online with the help of leading mobile and web development companies. But most often businesses prefer going with native apps as they are faster and works for a specific platform with full functionality. Some other businesses meanwhile consider developing cross-platform services.

But if we consider web apps and mobile apps and the success of PWAs, we can surely say that PWA will go a long way in the years to come.

Looking for PWA development services? Contact Fluper and get a free consultation with our experts now.